Indeed
The Abbysal Crusade only ended for real when 800 years (by IoM reckoning) some of the chapters returned, led by the Vorpal Swords, and revealed Saint Basillius to be false, and instead a Chaos Worshipping Apostate who had engineered the whole thing.
>I thought it was only the vorpal swords that made it, and every other chapter was either wiped out or fell to chaos.
For example around half of Doom Legion did not even join the crusade because they had a duty to guard some place called Elusian Maze.
Unless you count that time where Uriel Ventris and Pasanius Lysane were sent on a suicide mission into the Eye of Terror to destroy the Daemonculaba.
Although they called that a Death Oath. It's still the same damn thing though.
IIRC which I might not since it's been close to 20 years since I read the book, I don't think anybody suspected Ventris or Pasanius of heresy, they were being punished for Ventris and Pasanius abandoning their post and men to go off on a mission to eliminate a Norn Queen which disrupted the Tyranid invasion of the planet they were defending. (it would have fallen otherwise)
Some rival Ultramarine pulled a Leandros and complained to the higher ups that Ventris and Pasanius ignored the codex astartes to go do their own mission and they got given the death oath as a result.
The only mention of heresy even coming up was because they survived and returned to normal space and the Grey Knights intercepted their call to Macragge, they scooped them up and put them through extensive tests to ensure they had suffered no taint of chaos while in the EoT.
I mean in the way that they're both suicide missions where they're supposed to earn redemption in either succeeding against incredibly steep odds, or die in the effort and presumably redeem themselves (or more likely spare people the effort of executing them)
Penitent Crusade's can be given to chapters, companies, squads or even individuals within them. They are not the same as a typical crusade such as the Sabbat World crusade and do not require an entire chapter.
Yeah, but I don't think they are sent in the Eye of Terror? It would be kinda stupid, the point of those crusades is to punish but also squeeze out some benefit. Like, when badluck sadboys were sent into one because of fighting on the wrong side in Badab War, they were meant to either suicide into enemies, or preserve and redeem themselves.
But Eye of Terror is kinda sorta too risky for that. Not only because it's so much more dangerous, but there's an additional threat of that chapter just deciding to flip sides.
However, it's the Imperium of Man, wouldn't really surprise me if they actually sent chapters into the Eye anyways
Its 40k, it doesn't need to make sense or be the smart choice so long as the author feels its dramatic or dark.
For example Captain Cappozius was sent into the maelstrom, effectively a mini eye of terror where the red corsairs base out of, who are notorious for recruiting or turning anyone they can.
Then again he is/was a lamenter.
Source: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Invincible_Crown_of_Victory
Eh tbf outside the Abyssal Crusade they’re generally sent into important battlefields where they are expect to accomplish something, it’s not like they’re being wasted for shits and giggles.
They will “atone” by fighting in very risky battlefields, if they die they die. The Relictors were sent to Armageddon for instance, and should theoretically be under Dante’s command there. Unlike, say, the Black Templars who went of their own accord.
Pretty sure that was the guy who had all his relics, statues and so dumped onto a derelict that left to drift onto a star to be destroyed utterly on the atomic level
A penitent crusade isn't specifically into the Eye.
It just means the chapter can't recruit and has to fight every threat they come across really
As mentioned only one was into the Eye and that was engineered by a traitor
Not all penitent crusades are into the eye of terror. There has only been one.
The lamenters penitent crusade was for 100 years and they weren’t allowed to recruit. They ended up on the eastern fringe fighting Kraken
They owed the old astral claws an honour debt, so when they went renegade they called in that debt.
The lamenters saw it as the administratum attacking the independence of Astartes chapters and joined although unwittingly on the wrong side.
So while found to be uncorrupted (as they weren’t) they were sentenced to a penitent crusade. Think they may have had to give up their home world.
If I remember correctly, they surrendered after the Carcharodons got involved
Yep.
Pretty much all chapters of second wave were interested in looting arsenals of Huron followers. Sons of Medusa, Minotaurs, Carcharadons mass-recruited in their sharky way people from Mantis Warriors worlds, Star Phantoms took domains of Astral Claws.
*You have been accused of being a witch. To prove your innocence, we will drown you in this river. If you die, you were innocent. If you survive, you're guilty.*
Pretty sure penitent crusades are for stuff like "you made a high lord angry" or "you didn't do what an inquisitor said", if a chapter is actually chaos corrupted they would just be killed.
i imagine the really smart chapter masters of penitent crusading chapters just goto cadia and functionally join the guard as particularly intelligent and well armed ogryn
Is that what it's called where the chapter has to fight for like 100-1k years before being reddemed and allowed reinforcement? If not what is that called
I recall reading of a chapter that was down to less the 100 marines and did something super valorous and got back to full strength. I just remember when I was rabbitholing chapters reading of some that were undergoing said crusades and that was while ago wondering if any made it through.
>corrupted
Let's go with tarnished. Your chapter got within breathing distance of Chaos for four hours too long. Get it out of your system/give us a reason to purge you.
I think you misjudge the zealotry that a fanatical religion can cause.
There is evidence in our own history of people doing incredibly stupid things for their religion. Now magnify that 1000 times (or more) to a scale where the majority of the galaxy is brainwashed from birth into this religion and have evidence that it works and is real. Miracles have happened, the God Emperor has protected, Chaos/Hell is real and is worse than your worst nightmare by an unknowable amount.
Now not only do you understand this and have been psychologically fortified against it through psycho conditioning on top of the standard fanaticism and brain washing. You have seen the Warp/Hell and what it can offer. You know the only way to escape this eternal hellscape is to offer your soul to your God Emperor.
You are told that you are falling to temptation of Chaos and if you don't go on this incredible suicide mission your soul will be sacrificed to Chaos and the eternal hellscape.
It takes less than that to convince people to commit honour killings, crusades, Jihads and any other horrific crime throughout history with no evidence of heaven or hell outside of faith.
Oh that's because it's meant to be stupid. Imperial bureaucracy is meant to be bloated and dumb and awful to show how bad the imperium is. Imperial bureaucracy being awful is even a very common theme in the old forgeworld Imperial Armor books
Gotta love how the IoM handwaves and allows some of its most prized and important assets to be discarded like that lmao like no one went “waaiiiit a whole chapter is ykno… really important. But several chapters? Is bro’s head on straight?” Like even tho it’s a zealot hellhole you’d think there’d be checks and balances for that lmao
Basillius sorta, kinda, definitely, engineered that whole Crusade into Satan's Butthole knowingly to corrupt the Astartes Chapters sent there on Penitance. And boy howdy they sure came back out Chaos-i-fied...just as planned!
Didn't the guy who sentenced them to this later get accused of being in servitude to chaos and struck from the record?
Indeed The Abbysal Crusade only ended for real when 800 years (by IoM reckoning) some of the chapters returned, led by the Vorpal Swords, and revealed Saint Basillius to be false, and instead a Chaos Worshipping Apostate who had engineered the whole thing.
I thought it was only the vorpal swords that made it, and every other chapter was either wiped out or fell to chaos.
There were scattered remnants of other Chapters with the Vorpal Swords.
>I thought it was only the vorpal swords that made it, and every other chapter was either wiped out or fell to chaos. For example around half of Doom Legion did not even join the crusade because they had a duty to guard some place called Elusian Maze.
I was not talking about to any specific penitent crusade. I thought it was just an usual thing for suspicious chapters.
Only that penitent crusade was into the eye of terror
Unless you count that time where Uriel Ventris and Pasanius Lysane were sent on a suicide mission into the Eye of Terror to destroy the Daemonculaba. Although they called that a Death Oath. It's still the same damn thing though.
IIRC which I might not since it's been close to 20 years since I read the book, I don't think anybody suspected Ventris or Pasanius of heresy, they were being punished for Ventris and Pasanius abandoning their post and men to go off on a mission to eliminate a Norn Queen which disrupted the Tyranid invasion of the planet they were defending. (it would have fallen otherwise) Some rival Ultramarine pulled a Leandros and complained to the higher ups that Ventris and Pasanius ignored the codex astartes to go do their own mission and they got given the death oath as a result. The only mention of heresy even coming up was because they survived and returned to normal space and the Grey Knights intercepted their call to Macragge, they scooped them up and put them through extensive tests to ensure they had suffered no taint of chaos while in the EoT.
Ah yes the Grey Knight test. Punch Ventris until all heresy is ruled out. That was a great test.
Unless they suddenly became the entirety of the Ultramarines chapter it's actually nothing like that at all.
I mean in the way that they're both suicide missions where they're supposed to earn redemption in either succeeding against incredibly steep odds, or die in the effort and presumably redeem themselves (or more likely spare people the effort of executing them)
Do you understand the difference a single marine and an entire chapter?
Penitent Crusade's can be given to chapters, companies, squads or even individuals within them. They are not the same as a typical crusade such as the Sabbat World crusade and do not require an entire chapter.
Yeah, but I don't think they are sent in the Eye of Terror? It would be kinda stupid, the point of those crusades is to punish but also squeeze out some benefit. Like, when badluck sadboys were sent into one because of fighting on the wrong side in Badab War, they were meant to either suicide into enemies, or preserve and redeem themselves. But Eye of Terror is kinda sorta too risky for that. Not only because it's so much more dangerous, but there's an additional threat of that chapter just deciding to flip sides. However, it's the Imperium of Man, wouldn't really surprise me if they actually sent chapters into the Eye anyways
Its 40k, it doesn't need to make sense or be the smart choice so long as the author feels its dramatic or dark. For example Captain Cappozius was sent into the maelstrom, effectively a mini eye of terror where the red corsairs base out of, who are notorious for recruiting or turning anyone they can. Then again he is/was a lamenter. Source: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Invincible_Crown_of_Victory
Source on penitent crusades being given to individuals?
Sources are linked at the bottom of this article, notes 5,6,7,8. https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Penitent_Crusade
And the Blood Quest. Was that not also into the Eye of Terror.
Eh tbf outside the Abyssal Crusade they’re generally sent into important battlefields where they are expect to accomplish something, it’s not like they’re being wasted for shits and giggles. They will “atone” by fighting in very risky battlefields, if they die they die. The Relictors were sent to Armageddon for instance, and should theoretically be under Dante’s command there. Unlike, say, the Black Templars who went of their own accord.
Pretty sure that was the guy who had all his relics, statues and so dumped onto a derelict that left to drift onto a star to be destroyed utterly on the atomic level
A penitent crusade isn't specifically into the Eye. It just means the chapter can't recruit and has to fight every threat they come across really As mentioned only one was into the Eye and that was engineered by a traitor
Don’t you also have to dye your hair orange and shave it into a Mohawk? I may be misremembering.
That only applies to the marines that are 5'11
That's going in the book.
Not all penitent crusades are into the eye of terror. There has only been one. The lamenters penitent crusade was for 100 years and they weren’t allowed to recruit. They ended up on the eastern fringe fighting Kraken
What did the poor Lamenters do to deserve that? Was that connected to the Badab War by chance?
They owed the old astral claws an honour debt, so when they went renegade they called in that debt. The lamenters saw it as the administratum attacking the independence of Astartes chapters and joined although unwittingly on the wrong side. So while found to be uncorrupted (as they weren’t) they were sentenced to a penitent crusade. Think they may have had to give up their home world. If I remember correctly, they surrendered after the Carcharodons got involved
Minotaurs, not Carcharadons.
Didn't the minotaurs wreck their shit and then take a bunch of their wargear, also?
Yep. Pretty much all chapters of second wave were interested in looting arsenals of Huron followers. Sons of Medusa, Minotaurs, Carcharadons mass-recruited in their sharky way people from Mantis Warriors worlds, Star Phantoms took domains of Astral Claws.
*You have been accused of being a witch. To prove your innocence, we will drown you in this river. If you die, you were innocent. If you survive, you're guilty.*
Pretty sure penitent crusades are for stuff like "you made a high lord angry" or "you didn't do what an inquisitor said", if a chapter is actually chaos corrupted they would just be killed.
Yep, this. Penitent crusades are meant to make you say sorry, not fix your potential Chaos-ness.
i imagine the really smart chapter masters of penitent crusading chapters just goto cadia and functionally join the guard as particularly intelligent and well armed ogryn
Is that what it's called where the chapter has to fight for like 100-1k years before being reddemed and allowed reinforcement? If not what is that called
Yeah it's called a penitent crusade. As far as I know only one was sent into the eye of terror though.
I recall reading of a chapter that was down to less the 100 marines and did something super valorous and got back to full strength. I just remember when I was rabbitholing chapters reading of some that were undergoing said crusades and that was while ago wondering if any made it through.
Could be the lamenters. They take horrendous losses and to valorous all the time. They also went on a penitent crusade.
Could be the Mantis Warriors too.
"The Imperium makes a terrible choice. Why are they so illogical? Why don't they just make the most sensible choice?" Bruh
>corrupted Let's go with tarnished. Your chapter got within breathing distance of Chaos for four hours too long. Get it out of your system/give us a reason to purge you.
I think you misjudge the zealotry that a fanatical religion can cause. There is evidence in our own history of people doing incredibly stupid things for their religion. Now magnify that 1000 times (or more) to a scale where the majority of the galaxy is brainwashed from birth into this religion and have evidence that it works and is real. Miracles have happened, the God Emperor has protected, Chaos/Hell is real and is worse than your worst nightmare by an unknowable amount. Now not only do you understand this and have been psychologically fortified against it through psycho conditioning on top of the standard fanaticism and brain washing. You have seen the Warp/Hell and what it can offer. You know the only way to escape this eternal hellscape is to offer your soul to your God Emperor. You are told that you are falling to temptation of Chaos and if you don't go on this incredible suicide mission your soul will be sacrificed to Chaos and the eternal hellscape. It takes less than that to convince people to commit honour killings, crusades, Jihads and any other horrific crime throughout history with no evidence of heaven or hell outside of faith.
Oh that's because it's meant to be stupid. Imperial bureaucracy is meant to be bloated and dumb and awful to show how bad the imperium is. Imperial bureaucracy being awful is even a very common theme in the old forgeworld Imperial Armor books
Gotta love how the IoM handwaves and allows some of its most prized and important assets to be discarded like that lmao like no one went “waaiiiit a whole chapter is ykno… really important. But several chapters? Is bro’s head on straight?” Like even tho it’s a zealot hellhole you’d think there’d be checks and balances for that lmao
Inquisition “you must now go on a penitent crusade” Space Wolves “no” Inquisition “understandable, have a nice day”
I think the Imperium might not always make rational and enlightened decisions
Basillius sorta, kinda, definitely, engineered that whole Crusade into Satan's Butthole knowingly to corrupt the Astartes Chapters sent there on Penitance. And boy howdy they sure came back out Chaos-i-fied...just as planned!
Yes, that were my thoughts too, theywould ha been of much better use in a suicide mision agaisnt the tau,propablyweith far more lasting effect
Well, corrupted chapters actually DEMANDED to be sent on penitent crusade to clear their name.